Review Blog

Sep 23 2014

Intruder by Christine Bongers

Woolshed Press, 2014. ISBN 9780857983763 (pbk). ISBN 9780857983770
(ebk).
(Age: Yr 6-8) For the three years since her mother's death from
cancer, Kat and her dad, Jimmy, have lived a very private life,
keeping themselves and their business to themselves, fearing another
intervention from the authorities which will split them apart
again.Each night Jimmy goes out to play gigs in Brisbane's bars and
clubs and then backs up with the early morning shift at a local
bakery struggling to meet the mortgage on the house that his wife
loved, but also leaving Kat home alone at just 14.One night, Kat
wakes up to find an intruder standing over her bed, his hand on her
leg and it is only her blood-curdling scream and the arrival of the
hated woman-next-door with a softball bat that prevents the attack
going any further.
However, this event is just part of a traumatic experience for Kat
as it is the catalyst for an unravelling of her life as she believes
it to be with all the fervour, tunnel-vision perspective and sense
of rightness that 14-year olds have. Born from a real incident
happening to the author's daughter who was eventually able to get
over her guilt and start exploring the what-ifs, this is an
intriguing tale of revisit and reborn. Kat has been shaped by her
past and her interpretation of events and is trapped within it, and
it is only when she is offered the choice of staying with her
neighbour, whom she hates so much she will not even pass her house,
or having a guard dog which she fears as a victim of a savage attack
that she is forced to find an escape route from the cocoon she has
spun around herself and Jimmy. It is not an easy journey and in
travelling it she has to confront fears and situation that challenge
her beliefs, which, while making her very vulnerable also make her
stronger.Intruder is a story that will be adored by those on the
transition between childhood and adolescence. It has just enough
suspense to keep turning the page, but not enough to terrify; its
characters are diverse, realistic, memorable and recognisable and
show that we all need a little bit of everyone to enrich our lives;
and the plot, while very plausible, is not so close-to-home that the
reader will fear being alone or turning the light off. While I'm not
a fan of one-size-fits-all, I acknowledge that this story would have
great value as a small-group read, perhaps as a book club, where
readers can discuss its layers, explore the what-ifs, and perhaps
not only gain some insight into that typical tunnel-vision of the
age group, but perhaps develop some safety strategies as well. Teaching
notes are available.
Christine Bongers' two previous titles, Dust and Henry
Hoey Hobson have both featured in the CBCA awards lists
which gives an indication of the quality of her story-telling and
ability to reach her target audience well.
Barbara Braxton